Review Date
November 3, 2012

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: voyager63 ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Rode this trail on October 14, the day after we rode Jake Mountain. What a difference in trail systems. Jake Mountain had a lot of maintenance done and they also appeared to be much younger trails. Bull Mountain was a complete opposite. There was some maintenance done on the first mile or so of the 4 miles of up one has to go, after the maintenance area (by the way, a great job on the trail through this section!) the rest of the ride was littered with roots and rocks. You could tell these trails were older trails as they have had a lot of erosion on them. By the way, when I was told that is was 4 miles of "up" from the trailhead, I thought, yea, right. They were not kidding, it is literally 4 miles of up! Once you reach the ridge top, it is not bad.

I read the previous review about the labeling of the trails on the trail maps. The Forest Service must have done an overhaul on the maps because the ones we downloaded from the Forest Service were spot on, very easy to follow. However these trails are definitely not for the nubes. I've been riding for nearly 15 years and I found myself getting a little nervous at times. I'm a cautious rider, not a speedster or dare devil.

If you like adventure, some steep uphills, creek crossings, one of the trails made of a dry creek bed with large rocks on a steep slope, trails with a lot of erosion...then this is for you. I probably will not be going back to these trails...I will be heading to Jake Mountain. However, if you like a challenge, then this is the trail for you!

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Jake Mountain

Review Date
July 17, 2011

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: subspd ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Nice mixup of trails. Some hard climbs techincal with roots and some nice fast down hills. switches between single track and forest service roads.

COMPLAINT: Besides the horse poo the thing that bothers me is the signage. Nothing is clear, the roads there are marked with FS223 or 223f or 228f etc. but all the online maps use fs29(a,b,c,ect) or the maps use a(c,b,d,e) So when there it is very hard to quickly find the trails you want. I have been several times and can find my way around but no thanks to the signs or the maps. It is best to go with someone who knows the trails in the area if it is your first time. Otherwise you will be frustrated...

Recommended Route:
Run it in reverse to get the hardest down hill as you will be on tight single track for the down hill runs instead of on the forest roads.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Chicopee.

Review Date
February 21, 2011

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: forgedblade ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
New trail upgrade (1C to 1D) is a worthy improvement to the trail, but being new it is bumpy, needs a few months of rain and riding to smooth it out. I just tried a new route yesterday, taking 1D to 1F then taking the Lance Creek FS road to 1E. This is a beautiful route that still gets your legs working, then you can take the 1E to 1D back down the mountain for a thrilling descent. In the past I always climbed Bull Mountain and descended down the Bare Hare Trail, but this route is a lot of single track climbing and most of the downhill is mostly on the FS road. Either way at Bull Mountain you have a lot of great options!

Recommended Route:
1C to 1D to 1F to 1D to 1C.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Bear Creek, Chicopee Woods

Review Date
August 12, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: SkepticCycles ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
As everyone has said, great trail. Nice back woods feel and excellent downhills.

Recommended Route:
Thought I'd offer an alternative way to ride these trails. Head up Bull Mtn. Trail and take a right at the T. Enjoy the whoop-de-doos all the way down to the stream crossing. Just past the stream take a left onto Lance Creek trail. Instead of climbing Bare Hare, stay straight and you'll enjoy a pretty steady climb until the last little bit which is a nice challenge. Turn right when you get to the top go head down Bare Hare. Take a right again on Lance Creek and climb it again, this time try to do the whole climb without dabbing. Take a left at the top and enjoy the Bull Mtn. downhill. Keep right at the 1E junction and head back to the car.

This gives you two quick climbs and two longer downhills. I've actually done it Lance to Bull to Lance to Bare Hare to Lance to Bull and had a great time. I actually made the entire climb with no dabs the third time because I didn't think it was possible by that point.

Review Date
January 29, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: adamfancher ,  Racer

Summary:
This is one of the best trails in GA. It has everything: beautiful mountain views, creek crossings, long fire road climbs, baby head filled downhills, technical/rocky climbs, and a few fast sections. This is definitely not a beginner's trail. You'll need this map http://www.mindspring.com/~keithmc/rides/maps/bulljake3.pdf and a buddy for your first ride.

You can combine Jake Mountain with Bull Mountain for as epic a day as you can get in north GA.

Bull Mountain sucks in the rain. The clay will stick to your tires and rust your drive train. Give the trail a drying period of at least 12 hours for a light rain and 24 hours for a heavy rain.

This trail shares its use with equestrians, so please be mindful of horse riders. Parts of the Bull Mountain trail have segregated horse and bike trails. Pay attention to the brown signs and make sure to follow the bike trail as it's more fun and less horse poo-ridden.

Recommended Route:
If you go counter clockwise you get to climb fire roads and descend single track. From the parking lot, follow signs to the bike/horse trail. You will climb a fire road for about a mile. When you get to the junction marked 1C on the map, take a hard left up some clay single track. This is the Bull Mountain trail. Follow Bull Mountain up to 1D and take a right onto Whoop-De-Dos. Take Whoop-De-Dos down to an unmarked junction and keep left. Continue to another junction and keep left again. Cross the 50ft stream and take a left past the gate. Keep right at the fork marked 1D. This will put you on Bare Hare Trail. Bare Hare is a long forest road followed by some single track, nearly all of which is uphill. When you get to the 1E junction, keep right onto Bull Mountain. Bomb down Bull Mountain until you get back to the 1D intersection. Keep right at 1D and continue down hill on the clay single track. This will take you back to the fire road you came in on. Take a right at the fire road and you will be back to your car.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Chicopee Woods, Unicoi State Park, Jake Mountain